Constantine the Emperor

By: David Potter

Narrated by: Phil Holland

This year Christians worldwide will celebrate the 1700th anniversary of Constantine's conversion and victory at the Battle of the Milvian Bridge. No Roman emperor had a greater impact on the modern world than did Constantine. The reason is not simply that he converted to Christianity but that he did so in a way that brought his subjects along after him. Indeed, this major new biography argues that Constantine's conversion is but one feature of a unique administrative style that enabled him to take control of an empire beset by internal rebellions and external threats by Persians and Goths. The vast record of Constantine's administration reveals a government careful in its exercise of power but capable of ruthless, even savage actions. Constantine executed (or drove to suicide) his father-in-law, two brothers-in-law, his eldest son, and his once beloved wife. An unparalleled general throughout his life, even on his deathbed he was planning a major assault on the Sassanian Empire in Persia. Alongside the visionary who believed that his success came from the direct intervention of his God resided an aggressive warrior, a sometimes cruel partner, and an immensely shrewd ruler. These characteristics combined together in a long and remarkable career, which restored the Roman Empire to its former glory. Beginning with his first biographer Eusebius, Constantine's image has been subject to distortion.

More recent revisions include John Carroll's view of him as the intellectual ancestor of the Holocaust (Constantine's Sword) and Dan Brown's presentation of him as the man who oversaw the reshaping of Christian history (The Da Vinci Code). In Constantine the Emperor, David Potter confronts each of these skewed and partial accounts to provide the most comprehensive, authoritative, and readable account of Constantine's extraordinary life.

©2013 Oxford University Press (P)2014 Audible Inc.

Excellent.

A very good review of the documents coming down to us through the centuries. The material is excellent, the reading of it a little monotone. But that did not lessen the value of the book.

Informative, but boring

The narration is so unbelievably monotone the entire book it is so hard to maintain attention, and easy to miss important details. The way it sounds in the sample listening is exactly how it sounds the ENTIRE READING… with little/ no inflection. 🤮 The information provided is abundant… impossible to memorize, but very informative. The book starts with emphasis on how Constantine changed the world… yet I ended the book not clear exactly how so. It’s less of a story and more of an account or deposition.

What a great emperor, administrator, and champion

Narrator best ever. The subject looms gigantic in history of conquest, court reform, military acumen, and of course Christianity. He wrote the Nicene Creed!

Historically is was great.

So much information here to digest. Storyline rambled at times...then it would cycled back around. I'd love to see this book in a movie.

Great Book, Terrible Narration

The reading could not have been more robotic or monotonous. It really does a disservice to the book.

Thorough and Entertaining

I’ve done a good deal of research on Constantine recently and this feels both thorough and even-handed. I’ve also enjoyed it enough to listen twice, both because I missed some things the first time and because I really like this narrator. I do wish the Epilogue and Appendix information had been placed at the beginning - the information there is important and would have made it all easier to comprehend.

In this sign thou shalt conquer!

"As with every modern version of Constantine, the urge to draw reductive conclusions is a strong one, and the religious question in a world where religious affiliation is a strong one, and the religious question in a world where religious affiliation is still for so many a crucial aspect of their identity makes this both a reasonable and perhaps inevitable choice."
- David Potter, Constantine the Emperor

A nice survey of Constantine's life, utilizing primarily first hand documents to separate the man from the myth. Porter's biography of Constantine essentially paints Constantine as a pragmatic emperor and religious leader. Where he felt he could change things through battle, he would (and did). Where he felt like he could strengthen the empire through compromise and moderation he would (and did). His conversion to Christianity allowed him to weave parts of the empire together, and unify them under a divine "Mens Divina". He used Christianity as much as Christianity "used" him. Both were legitimized and strengthened by the other. That doesn't mean he wasn't a true believer, but mostly that his conversion (as told by Christian historians) might not have been as immediate. Perhaps, it was line upon line as Constantine became more confident in his new God.

It really is hard to imagine what place Christianity would hold globally without Constantine, or what exactly it would look like. Probably after Christ and Paul, Constantine might be considered the most influential Christian. He unified (mostly) the Church, gave it a safe place to grow, and sheltered it under the Aegis of the Roman empire. Potter does a good job of pointing out the complexities of Constantine and the limits of what we actually DO know about this influential ruler, Christian, and man.

That said, the biography sometimes gets lost in the weeds. I could have probably done without as much detailed exposition on details such as the Arch of Constantine. Sometimes, these expansions throw the reader off the narrative thread a bit. For the most part, however, it was a good biography. I walked away with a more complex and complicated idea of not just Constantine, but his father (Constantius), Diocletian, Galerius, and Maximian.

Worth listening to

Narrative is great. Very interesting and I will repeat this again to listen to. Thank You

Informative

Slow yet methodical. Lots of information with insightful debate of Constantine’s life and history. Recommend for a history buff.

subpar

the reading is so robotic, absolutely no attempt at inference or any kind of inflection. The writing is just as robotic, I drive a lot and listen books in the car. I've had to stop this book several time as it will make me nod off in traffic. I would recommend the Constantine book narrated by Charlton Griffin.